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Niki Haris | |
|---|---|
 Haris in 1993 | |
| Born | April 17, 1962 |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, dancer |
| Known for | One of Madonna's backing vocalists |
| Musical career | |
| Instrument | Vocals |
Niki Haris (born April 17, 1962) is an American singer and dancer of pop, R&B, jazz and dance music. She was one of Madonna's backing vocalists from 1987 to 2001, and the guest lead vocalist on various Snap! singles in the early 1990s.
Haris was born Gina Nichole Haire in Benton Harbor, Michigan on April 17, 1962, the daughter of jazz musician Gene Harris. [1] She attended college in Southern California before pursuing a singing career in amusement parks and clubs in the California area.
Haris gave birth to a daughter, Jordan Ann, in 2003.[ citation needed ] The father is Club Nouveau member, producer, songwriter (and Karyn White's manager) Jay King.[ citation needed ]
| This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources .(August 2023) |
Haris became a close friend of, backing vocalist and dancer for Madonna during her Who's That Girl Tour (1987). She appeared in the documentary film Madonna: Truth or Dare (1991), directed by Alek Keshishian, which chronicled various personal and entertaining moments (both off- and on-stage) during Madonna’s iconic—and controversial—Blond Ambition Tour (1991). Haris also appeared in the music videos for Madonna’s number-one hit songs "Vogue" (1990) and "Music" (2000). Along with fellow backup singer Donna De Lory, Haris provided backup vocals on many of Madonna’s records between 1987 and 2000, appeared in numerous recorded and televised Madonna performances, and participated in four out of Madonna’s eight concert tours, namely the Who's That Girl Tour (1987), the Blond Ambition Tour (1990), The Girlie Show Tour (1993) and The Drowned World Tour (2001). The Who’s That Girl Tour performance in Turin, Italy, was broadcast live globally, and eventually released on home video, titled Ciao, Italia: Live from Italy (1988). One of The Girlie Show dates in Sydney, Australia, was filmed for VHS/DVD, and the Drowned World Tour performance in Madonna’s hometown of Detroit, Michigan was broadcast live on HBO, prior to VHS/DVD release. Both Haris and De Lory featured prominently in these concert tours, providing not only backing vocals and dancing but also comedic banter and interaction with Madonna throughout the shows.
For the Re-Invention Tour in 2004, Haris was replaced with Siedah Garrett. The official word from Haris was that she "would like to focus on her solo career and family". Haris was also absent from Madonna's subsequent Confessions Tour (2006), the Sticky & Sweet Tour (2008-09), the MDNA Tour (2012) and the Rebel Heart Tour (2015-16), as well as from providing backing vocals on each tour’s respective album.
Her vocal film work is also featured on the soundtracks of Corrina, Corrina , The Big Green , Noises Off , Coyote Ugly , Urban Legends: Bloody Mary and Anastasia . She has also recorded television themes, including co-writing and performing two songs for the Fox series Dark Angel .
Haris toured with her father, until his death, while promoting their albums, Down Home Blues and In His Hands and Jazz Alley Cats.
Haris performed at benefits for AIDS, cancer research and Camp Harmony for inner city children. She is a supporter for the Music in the Classroom program and Rockers Against Drunk Driving and is an annual participant in the Season for Non Violence. Niki has made several television appearances in 2008 & presently in 2009 including: The Democratic National Convention 2008, CNN, Fox Network & Fuse TV.
| This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources .(August 2023) |
Haris has collaborated with many artists including, Michelle Branch, All Saints, Whitney Houston, Kylie Minogue, Anita Baker, Ray Charles, Karyn White, Prince, Mick Jagger, Julian Lennon, LeAnn Rimes, Luther Vandross, Jessica Simpson, Pussycat Dolls, Santana, The Righteous Brothers, Rufus, Enrique Iglesias, Marilyn Manson, [2] Madonna, Tom Jones, Snap!, Joe Henry, Michael Bernard Beckwith and Ani DiFranco. Niki appeared on Donna De Lory's 2013 album on a track called 'Kinder'.
| This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources .(August 2023) |
Haris choreographed the MTV Awards for Madonna as well as providing some additional choreography on The Girlie Show, and for the television series Melrose Place . She helped stage scenes for Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct .
Haris has performed in lead appearances in Truth or Dare , was featured artist on the HBO special Sandra After Dark, and had a role in the film Heat .
Niki appeared in, and sang backing vocals for Pee-Wee's Playhouse Christmas Special.
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US Dance | UK | IRE | NED | BEL (FLA) | FRA | GER | AUT | SWI | SWE | NOR | AUS | NZ | ||||
| 1991 | "What's It Gonna Be" (Jellybean feat. Niki Haris) | 90 | 2 | 98 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Spillin' the Beans(by Jellybean) | |
| "Do Anything" (Natural Selection feat. Niki Haris) | 2 | — | 69 | — | 48 | — | — | — | — | — | 21 | — | 10 | 9 | Natural Selection(by Natural Selection) | ||
| 1992 | "Exterminate!" (Snap! feat. Niki Haris) | — | 29 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 18 | 3 | 9 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 50 | 25 | Singles only | |
| 1993 | "Do You See the Light (Looking For)" (Snap! feat. Niki Haris) | — | — | 10 | 9 | 9 | 5 | 40 | 13 | 8 | 10 | 20 | — | — | — | ||
| 2002 | "Do You See the Light" (Snap! vs. Plaything) | — | — | 14 | — | — | — | — | 66 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006 | "Let Me Hear the Music" (L.E.X. feat. Niki Haris) | — | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009 | "Bad, Bad Boy" (The Perry Twins feat. Niki Haris) | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "This Time Baby" (Eddie X pres. Niki Haris) | — | 5 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 2016 | "Rain" (Donna De Lory & Niki Haris) [3] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released. | |||||||||||||||||
The Blond Ambition World Tour was the third concert tour by American singer Madonna. It supported her fourth studio album Like a Prayer (1989), and the soundtrack album to the 1990 film Dick Tracy, I'm Breathless. The 57-show tour began on April 13, 1990, at the Chiba Marine Stadium in Chiba, Japan, and concluded on August 5 at the Stade Charles-Ehrmann in Nice, France. Additionally, it marked Madonna's first concerts in Sweden and Spain. Originally planned as the Like a Prayer World Tour, it was supposed to be sponsored by soft drink manufacturer Pepsi. However, the company cancelled the contract following the controversy surrounding the music video of "Like a Prayer".
Who's That Girl is the first soundtrack album by American singer and songwriter Madonna. It was released on July 21, 1987, by Sire Records to promote the film of the same name. It also contains songs by her label mates Scritti Politti, Duncan Faure, Club Nouveau, Coati Mundi and Michael Davidson. The soundtrack is credited as a Madonna album, despite her only performing four of the nine tracks on the album. After the commercial success of the film Desperately Seeking Susan (1985), in which she co-starred, Madonna wanted to act in another comedy film titled Slammer, about a woman named Nikki Finn who was falsely accused of homicide. However, due to the critical and commercial failure of her adventure film Shanghai Surprise (1986), Warner Bros. was initially reluctant to greenlight the project but later agreed.
"Who's That Girl" is a song by American singer Madonna from the soundtrack of the 1987 film of the same name. Written and produced by Madonna and Patrick Leonard, it was released in Europe as the soundtrack's lead single on June 29, 1987 and in the United States on 30 June 1987. An uptempo pop song, "Who's That Girl" continued the singer's fascination with Latin pop, a genre she had previously explored on her single "La Isla Bonita". It features instrumentation from drums, bass, and trumpets, and has lyrics sung both in English and Spanish. While shooting for the film, then called Slammer, Madonna had requested Leonard to develop a song that captured the nature of her character; the producer worked on a demo and, afterwards, Madonna added the lyrics and decided to rename the song, as well as the film, to "Who's That Girl".
The Donnas were an American rock band formed in Palo Alto, California, in 1993. The band consisted of Brett Anderson, Allison Robertson, Maya Ford and Torry Castellano. Amy Cesari replaced Castellano, who left the band in 2009 due to tendonitis. They drew inspiration from the Ramones, the Runaways, Girlschool, AC/DC, Bachman–Turner Overdrive and Kiss. Rolling Stone has stated that "the Donnas offer a guileless take on adolescent alienation; they traffic in kicks, not catharsis, fun rather than rage". MTV has stated that the band offers "a good old-fashioned rock & roll party".
Donna De Lory is an American singer, dancer and songwriter. Part of a musical family, De Lory has been performing since a young age. Her voice can be heard on albums by Carly Simon, Ray Parker Jr., Kim Carnes, Santana, Martika, Laura Branigan, Belinda Carlisle, Selena, Bette Midler, Barry Manilow, Mylène Farmer, Alisha and Madonna. De Lory accompanied Madonna as backing vocalist and dancer on every concert from the Who's That Girl Tour in 1987, up to the Confessions Tour in 2006. Her performance with Madonna at the Live Earth 2007 concert in London was their final professional collaboration to date.
I'm Breathless is an album by American singer and songwriter Madonna, released on May 22, 1990, by Sire Records to accompany the film Dick Tracy. The album contains three songs written by Stephen Sondheim, which were used in the film, in addition to several songs co-written by Madonna that were inspired by but not included in the film. Madonna starred as Breathless Mahoney alongside her then-boyfriend Warren Beatty who played the title role, Dick Tracy. After filming was complete, Madonna began work on the album, with Sondheim, producer Patrick Leonard and engineer Bill Bottrell. She also worked with producer Shep Pettibone on the album's first single, "Vogue". The album was recorded in three weeks, at Johnny Yuma Recording and Ocean Way Studios, in Los Angeles, California.
The Drowned World Tour was the fifth concert tour by American singer-songwriter Madonna in support of her seventh and eighth studio albums Ray of Light (1998) and Music (2000), respectively. The tour began on June 9, 2001, at the Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona, Spain, and ended on September 15 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, United States. It was her first tour in eight years, following the Girlie Show in 1993. Set to start in 1999, it was delayed until 2001 as Madonna filmed and starred in the movie The Next Best Thing (2000), began working on Music, gave birth to her son Rocco and married Guy Ritchie.
"Causing a Commotion" is a song by American singer Madonna from the soundtrack album to the 1987 film Who's That Girl. It was released as the album's second single on August 25, 1987, by Sire Records. Its Silver Screen Single Mix later appeared on the EP The Holiday Collection (1991). Written and produced by Madonna and Stephen Bray, the song was inspired by her relationship with then-husband Sean Penn, and his abusive and violent nature. Containing a dance-oriented, up-tempo groove, the song begins with the chorus and is accompanied by a four-note descending bassline and staccato chords in the verses.
"Bye Bye Baby" is a song recorded by American singer and songwriter Madonna, for her fifth studio album Erotica (1992). It was released on November 15, 1993, as the sixth and final single from the album only outside the US. "Bye Bye Baby" was written by Madonna, Shep Pettibone, and Anthony Shimkin and was produced by Madonna and Pettibone. The song is inspired by Madonna's emotions of that time and her S&M thoughts. Musically, it is a hip hop song, sampling a hook from LL Cool J's track "Jingling Baby", released in 1990. Madonna's vocals were filtered to make them appear as sound coming out from an answering machine. "Bye Bye Baby" features instrumentation from keyboard and lyrically finds Madonna asking questions to a lover she is about to abandon.
The Girlie Show was the fourth concert tour by American singer and songwriter Madonna, in support of her fifth studio album, Erotica (1992). It began on September 25, 1993, at the Wembley Stadium in London, England, and ended on December 19 of the same year at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan.
"Deeper and Deeper" is a song by American singer Madonna from her fifth studio album, Erotica (1992). It was written and produced by Madonna and Shep Pettibone, with additional writing from Anthony Shimkin. In Australia and most European countries, the song was released as the album's second single on November 17, 1992; in the United States, a release was issued on December 8. It was included on Madonna's second greatest hits compilation, GHV2 (2001). A dance-pop and deep house song, it has disco and Philadelphia soul influences; the bridge features instrumentation from flamenco guitars and castanets and features background vocals from the singer's collaborators Donna De Lory and Niki Haris. Lyrically, the song talks about sexual desire, though it has been argued that it is actually about a young man coming to terms with his homosexuality. It includes a reference to Madonna's single "Vogue" (1990).
"Rain" is a song by American singer Madonna from her fifth studio album, Erotica (1992). Written and produced by Madonna and Shep Pettibone, in Australia and most European countries, "Rain" was released as single on July 17, 1993. In the United Kingdom and the United States, it was issued on July 19 and August 5, respectively. It was then included on Madonna's 1995 compilation, Something to Remember. A pop ballad with elements of R&B, trip-hop, and New-age music, "Rain" has lyrics that liken water and rainfall to the power of love.
"Hanky Panky" is a song by American singer Madonna from her soundtrack album I'm Breathless. It was released on June 12, 1990, by Sire Records as the album's second and final single. Written and produced by Madonna and Patrick Leonard, the song was developed from a line in the parent film, Dick Tracy, talking about a woman who enjoys being spanked by her partner. Performed in a playful, “tongue-in-cheek” style, "Hanky Panky" is a jazz and swing song, keeping with the film's general theme of the 1920s and 1930s, with a changing bassline and minor to major key-shift in the chorus. It caused some controversy in Ireland because of its innuendo and racy lyrics, with women's groups deeming them harmful; Madonna later clarified that the lyrics were intended as a joke.
The Who's That Girl World Tour was the second concert tour by American singer and songwriter Madonna. The tour supported her 1986 third studio album True Blue, as well as the 1987 soundtrack Who's That Girl. It started on June 14, 1987, at the Osaka Stadium in Osaka, Japan, and ended on September 6 of the same year at the Stadio Artemio Franchi in Florence, Italy. It was Madonna's first world tour and marked her first visits to Japan and Europe. Musically and technically superior to her previous Virgin Tour, Who's That Girl incorporated multimedia components to make the show more appealing.
Drowned World Tour 2001 is the fifth video album by American singer-songwriter Madonna. It was released on November 13, 2001, by Warner Music Vision, Warner Reprise Video, and Maverick Records to accompany Madonna's second greatest hits album GHV2. The video chronicles a live date from Madonna's Drowned World Tour, which visited Europe and North America, grossing over US$76.8 million in total. It was recorded at The Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Michigan on August 26, 2001, and was originally broadcast live on HBO as Madonna Live! Drowned World Tour 2001.
Alexandre Magno is a Brazilian born choreographer and director. His dance styles include hip-hop, jazz, ballet, samba, flamenco, tango, salsa, and martial arts. He has performed with Madonna, Yanni, Britney Spears, the Lido La Tourné, Ballet Hispanico, the Ringling Brothers Circus, and the Academy Awards. He also works with his own dance company, “Personna Dance Theatre".
Alfred V. De Lory was an American record producer, arranger, conductor and session musician. He was the producer and arranger of a series of worldwide hits by Glen Campbell in the 1960s, including John Hartford's "Gentle on My Mind", Jimmy Webb's "By the Time I Get to Phoenix", "Wichita Lineman" and "Galveston". He was also a member of the 1960s Los Angeles session musicians known as The Wrecking Crew, and inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in 2007.
Donna DeLory is the debut album by American singer and songwriter Donna de Lory, released in 1992 by MCA Records. Three singles were released from the album: "Praying for Love," "Just a Dream," and "Think It Over." The second single charted in the United Kingdom and became a top ten hit in the United States on the Dance Club Songs chart.
"Just a Dream" is a song recorded by American singer Donna de Lory for her eponymous debut studio album (1992). It was released as the album's second single on March 9, 1993, by MCA Records. The song was written and produced by Madonna and Patrick Leonard while composing the former's fourth studio album, Like a Prayer (1989). Since Madonna felt "Just a Dream" would not suit her discography, she gave it to de Lory for recording. After release, the song received mixed review from critics. "Just a Dream" debuted and peaked at number 71 on the UK Singles Chart and reached number ten on the US Dance Club Songs and number 17 on the Dance Singles Sales charts, respectively.
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